Canada didn’t start current trade war

The “Trump is not to blame” letter in the March 11/25 Sunny South News illustrates a disturbing trend seen in social media of deflecting blame of economic issues to other entities to distract from nefarious actions of a perpetrator. Most countries in the world are being targeted for tariffs, so why is Canada responsible?

Nazi Germany successfully used it’s “stab-in-the-back”( Dolchstoßlegende- courtesy of Wikipedia) myth to promote antisemitism and anti-communism, saying these groups were responsible for Germany’s loss in WWI and that Germany didn’t actually lose the ground battle. Sound familiar?

All governments experience their own share of scandals and the Liberal’s scandals had little impact on Canadians other than prompting resignations. Politicians use equalization as a way to pit provinces against each other. The present, complex equalization formula was crafted by a Conservative government and is a major contributing factor why Canada has nation-wide quality public education.

I had a laugh about the statement “bringing in and supporting untold illegal immigrants”, since if the government brings them in, they are actually legal immigrants. I helped many immigrants settle in the early years of this government and all are now Canadian citizens, working and paying taxes, EI and CPP premiums. We would be in dire straits if not for the many immigrants and temporary foreign workers who support the food and other industries in Southern Alberta. Most recent population increases in Alberta prompting housing shortages are a result of people moving from other provinces. as a result of a provincial program of “Alberta is Calling” – a program which had no planning for health care, education and housing supports for these new residents.

US News & World Report ranked Canada as #4 in the world for best quality of life. (Denmark was #1.) I am grateful for and proud of our country. I hope to focus on as many random acts of kindness as possible and to use any platform possible to reduce hate and to insert positivity into our society. 

Barb Goertzen